He was taken to St Vincents Hospital and treated for a deep facial cut, a fractured forearm and a broken leg. An operation to fit a pin to his leg was underway this afternoon.

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‘‘Considering the seriousness of the attack and the injuries he is in fairly good spirits,’’ Garry Harding, City of Sydney director of community and cultural services, told reporters on Friday.

Mr Harding said it was rare for council rangers to be attacked at work.

‘‘Rangers are subjected to abuse from time to time, but generally it is verbal abuse,’’ he said.

Mr Swalah-McDahrou has worked as a ranger with City of Sydney for three years.

The attack on him was apparently unprovoked, Mr Harding said.

‘‘He wasn’t writing a ticket. In fact, I understand that the person had asked him whether he was going to be booked and he said no.’’

USU general secretary Ben Kruse said the attack highlighted the need for a change in community attitudes.

"This is not about the law, it's about community attitudes," Mr Kruse told reporters.

"We need to see a shift, a change in direction, so that an appropriate level of respect is brought towards these guys in the performance of their work."

Mr Kruse said a survey of 250 rangers conducted by the USU just two months ago found 46 per cent had been physically assaulted in the three previous months.

Sixty per cent of those assaulted said the attacks were becoming more violent.

Mr Kruse said discussions were now underway with local councils about adopting the buddy system and he said he hoped there would be new measures to ensure officer safety announced early in the new year.

However he rejected suggestions that officers should be armed with batons or other weapons as a form of protection.

Mr Harding said he believed most people respected the work of rangers.

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‘‘They might not like getting a ticket but they appreciate that they are just normal working people out there trying to earn a living,’’ he said.